International Consultant _ Technical support to provide training to the Quality Management (QM) Unit of Lao PDR National Regulatory Authority (NRA)

Introduction

Description of Assignment:

Period of assignment/services: 147 working days over 8 months (with possibility of extension).

Background

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is, per capita, the most heavily bombed country in the world. More than forty years after the end of the 1964-1973 Indochina Conflict, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) remains a major humanitarian and socioeconomic challenge to the country, causing deaths and injuries, limiting access to potentially productive land, and adding substantial costs to processes of development.

The Government of Lao PDR has been active in the process of clearance since shortly after the conflict with a significant acceleration of efforts in the mid-1990s. Lao PDR has advocated for the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) and hosted the first Meeting of States Parties in 2010. It also embraced the UXO issue as a key development matter by locally establishing the Sustainable Development Goal 18 (SDG18), “Lives Safe from UXO”.

In Lao PDR, UXO is considered as a cross-cutting issue relevant to all other sectors in the 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2021-2025 (9th NSEDP) and features significantly in the forthcoming 10th NSEDP. Giving the UXO sector its own output (“Output 6: UXO clearance progressively accelerated, and more lives made safe from UXO” under “Outcome 3: Enhanced well-being of the people” according to the 9th NSEDP endorsed by the Government of Lao PDR (GoL) on March 2021) has elevated the UXO issue to a national level, increased awareness and also reflected the importance of the sector through placing UXO action at the heart of government policy.

The National Strategic Plan for the UXO Sector in the Lao PDR 2022 – 2026, “The Safe Path Forward III” (SPFIII) details the objectives of the Government and its development partners over the period where the aim is to reduce the humanitarian and socio-economic threats posed by UXO. A focus of the document is the need to ensure strong integration with development mechanisms particularly at a provincial level and to ensure actions are focused on community-level priorities for the facilitation of development.

The UXO sector in the country consists of the National Regulatory Authority for the UXO/Mine Action Sector in the Lao PDR (NRA), the Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Programme (UXO Lao), humanitarian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), several accredited commercial companies providing UXO services, and humanitarian clearance teams within the Lao People’s Army (Unit 58). The overall coordination and sector lead from the Government is mandated to rest with the NRA through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Since the mid-1990s, UNDP has been the leading development partner supporting the UXO sector in Lao PDR. UNDP, with other partners, have helped establish both the national authority (NRA) and the national clearance capacity (UXO Lao). The Minister of Labour and Social Welfare chairs both the NRA Board and the UXO Sector Working Group. UNDP also serves as Co-Chair of the UXO Sector Working Group, together with the Ambassador of the United States to Lao PDR. The Sector Working Group is tasked to coordinate all partners engaged in the sector and achieve development effectiveness.

UNDP support to the UXO sector in Lao PDR has focused on two axes, notably: 1) support to strengthening the capacity and technical competency of the NRA, to be able to oversee and steer the sector in pursuance of national strategic goals and obtaining Lao PDR’s unique UXO Action Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 18: Lives Safe from UXO. 2) To provide capacity support for survey and clearance, through support to UXO Lao and the Humanitarian teams of the Lao People’s Army (Unit 58), thus hastening progress towards clearance in impacted communities.

UNDP continues to work with the Government of Canada to support the NRA in developing a capacity of the NRA, particularly in the quality management of UXO operations in country, with a focus on landmines. Lao PDR has some contamination of both anti-personnel (AP) and anti-vehicle (AV) landmines originating from ground conflict prior to the aerial US bombing undertaken from 1964 to 1973. Contamination of landmines is focused on the border with Vietnam, with landmines found in (currently) Houaphan and Savannakhet provinces. Further to work already undertaken with Canadian funding, the NRA now has all the tools to be able to accredit and undertaken quality assurance and quality control of landmine clearance, in alignment with Lao PDR National Standards which were recently revised in 2024/5.

The NRA, under the stewardship of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has recently undertaken a full review of the functionality of the NRA and is in process of making changes to the office in order to drive efficiency. Part of these changes includes the shrinking of the QM department, a rationalisation of teams with a particular onus on quality assurance (over quality control).

UNDP requires the services of a specialised Mine/UXO Quality Management specialist to be able to continue the training of the new NRA QM staff to further drive the efficiency and effectiveness of the QM function of the NRA. This in response to the recently revised National Standards, and the changes currently being implemented by MoFA focusing on the new composition of the QM staff.

Objective

To support and drive good UXO/Mine Action Quality Management (QM) practice with the new iteration of the QM function within the NRA.

Scope of Work

The successful applicant will be expected to be responsible for the following:

Task 1: Continue to build technical capacity of QM staff, under the revised structure of the NRA, with the QM focus on quality assurance.

• Strengthen technical capacities of QM staff, using data from previous assessments, through utilization of self-assessment tool and a focus on compliance with revised NMAS.
• Supervise QM field visits to humanitarian and commercial clearance operators to ensure good practice of NRA QM staff in a field setting.
• Oversee the completion of field QM visit reports, feedback to operators, reporting to NRA management as per organizational requirements.
• Identify needs, design and implement training requirements of QM staff where appropriate, with a focus on QA (over QC, as per revised NRA QM strategy).
• Provide tailored QM team management mentoring to the QM Lead (technical) and Head of QM and Programmes (management).
• Support the QM section to develop strong standard operating procedures.

Task 2: Provide technical support to NRA management and staff to strengthen conceptual understanding of QM principles and good practice:

• Design and implement short QM course for NRA managers (Heads of Sections, Deputy Director, Director) so managers better understand the need for strong QM practice and the necessary management thereof.
• Support NRA management in the distribution and sensitization with operators, stakeholders of revised national standards.
• Work with Head of Section for QM and Programmes to implement strong annual planning with appropriate budgeting.
• Support the NRA on other technical issues such as the introduction of the land release concept, national standards annual revision process, accreditation of operators for land mine clearance activities etc.

Task 3: Support NRA QM unit to ensure strong data management

• Work with QM management and technical lead to implement strong QM data management policy
• Mentor QM administrative staff on the application of data management for QM
• Liaise closely with Information Management team to ensure mutual support and synergy between the two operational units.
• Work with Head of QM and Programme to ensure appropriate and efficient access to QM data for relevant stakeholders.

Task 4: Provide technical backup to the UNDP Lao PDR UXO Unit

• In close collaboration with the CTA, provide training, mentoring, advice to the UXO Unit and UNDP management on technical issues relating to UXO.
• Provide support to ensuring high quality of technical reporting, as appropriate.
• Provide ad hoc technical support to Unit 58, the humanitarian clearance unit of the Lao People’s Army as required, appropriate.

Proposed methodology

Under the supervision of the UNDP CTA, the consultant will be expected to work embedded in the NRA QM department working closely with NRA QM staff.

The consultant will be required to be flexible and provide support across the areas described above, in line with the upcoming changes in NRA staff composition (quantity of QM staff) and policy (changes in onus, with more focus on QA over QC).

Please note: The NRA QM team only have a little amount of English and as such an interpreter will be needed to facilitate work. UNDP will facilitate with the hiring of an interpreter.